Psychedelics are quickly emerging as alternative methods of treatment for mental illnesses and neurodegenerative conditions — particularly in countries such as Canada.
Although the overarching market is still relatively new, much like the cannabis boom a few years ago the psychedelics space is growing at an unprecedented rate. Over the next several years, the psychedelics industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 per cent to reach US$6.86 billion in 2027, up significantly from $2.07 billion in 2019.
Contributing to market growth will be an increase in the drug’s usage in treating major depressive disorders, treatment-resistant depression, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and opiate addictions among others.
What’s more, over the coming years psychedelics will continue to gain acceptance for treating these conditions which will also contribute to that market growth.
In comes companies like Filament Health Corp. (NEO:FH, Forum), an exclusively natural psychedelic drug development company.
Based out of Vancouver, BC Filament Health aims to treat mental health conditions through the discovery and delivery of pure natural psychedelic medicines.
To support its mission, the company has a robust portfolio of extraction and purification methods, a botanical extraction management team, a Health Canada psilocybin Dealer’s License, and in-house GMP manufacturing capabilities.
On August 3, the company notched a significant milestone to its belt by being the first publicly traded company to be issued a patent for the extraction of natural psilocybin.
Filament Health notches patent
In a press release, the patent, which was issued by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, is for the extraction and standardization of natural psilocybin and related psychoactive compounds.
Additionally, the technology backed by the patent will be essential for transforming variable psychedelic raw materials into pharmaceutical-grade standardized extracts.
Filament Health has been developing the technology in order to extract and standardize a stable dose of natural psilocybin to surpass crop-to-crop and flush-to-flush variability. Extraction processes previously done have had challenges in relation to poor yields, stability and repeatability. In other words, Filament has overcome challenges in order to produce a better product at a much lower cost.
“We are proud to lead the industry with this first issued natural extraction patent. This approval represents important progress in the development of our intellectual property,” Benjamin Lightburn, CEO of Filament, said in a press release. “At Filament Health, we know that nature is a valuable source of medicine, but that certain technologies are necessary to bring natural products up to a pharmaceutical-grade—most importantly, through standardization.”
The patent, which was granted after the company was given an amendment to its Health Canada Dealer’s License on July 28, will also allow for broad operations with all controlled natural psychedelic substances.
Unlocking the potential of natural psychedelics
In a previous press release, Filament Health said the amended license “increases the scope” of its work with natural psychedelics.
Thanks to the license, Filament will look to create the first-ever natural pharmaceutical grade extracts and put them into clinical trials in order to demonstrate safety and efficacy.
“By studying untapped psychedelics in a scientific setting, we believe we can unlock and standardize their healing power,” Ryan Moss, director of research at Filament, said in a release. “This is a promising step forward in our mission to get safe, natural psychedelics into the hands of everyone who needs them, as soon as possible.”
The company will look to produce its psychedelic extracts in-house at its Vancouver-based GMP-certified facility, which is where Filament has also developed compounds to be studied in the first-ever FDA-approved natural-psilocybin clinical trials in Q3 2021.
Investment summary
As Filament Health is the first publicly traded company to receive this honour from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, all eyes will surely be on the company moving forward for setting such a milestone.
The nod from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office also solidifies the company’s position as a leader in natural psychedelics and confirms the work Filament has been doing is nothing short of effective.
As a result, the company will be among the first to purposefully explore psychedelics in pharmaceutical applications, which will be a game-changer for not only Filament Health but the industry as a whole.
For more information, visit filament.health.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.
